Might as Well
by NeneJPhilly
Summary: Speedy & Cheshire are going through a lot of changes. (Love You Universe) (oneshot) (COMPLETE)


"For the love of everything, 'Wing, turn it off!" Cyborg cried.

"No!" Raven panicked and ignored the blanket. "Please don't leave us alone with-"

"Please do it, 'Wing!" Jinx overrode her.

"I find it delightful." Starfire murmured.

"How?" Bumble Bee muttered.

"It's funny!" Kid Flash swore.

"Not all of it." Terra bit off.

"'Wing, I can't take this!" Cyborg complained.

"Cyborg, I am begging you-!" Raven vowed.

"There's only so much a person can take before they snap!"

"How do you think _we_ feel?!"

"Hurtful." Changeling sulked.

"Okay, new rule: jokes can only be told at two hour intervals for a fifteen minute block." Nightwing decided. "Does that sound good for everyone?"

"When do the fifteen minutes start?" Everyone asked him at once.

"It already ended…"

"Dangit!" Changeling pouted.

"Yes!" Cyborg, Raven, Bumble Bee and Jinx breathed. Even Terra sighed in relief.

"Are we there yet?"

"Are we gon have to institute a no talking rule?!" Cyborg snapped.

"Mean, bro. I just gotta drain the dragon."

"Didn't I tell you to go at the last rest-stop?" Nightwing chastised.

"Yeah but I didn't have to go then."

"You're just going to have to hold it."

"Aww man!" Changeling looked around the area of his family's pod of the T-S2.

"No!" Raven covered his hands with hers.

"No what?"

"You know what. Stop relieving yourself in front of us!"

"But I gotta go!"

"We're here!" Nightwing bit off.

"Yes!"

Cyborg sighed. "We're def. turning the intercoms off on the way back."

("~") pagebreak

"You're here!" Kole opened the door to Titans West. "Just in time! Help us with her!"

"She's being a right mess?" Bumble Bee already figured.

"So much! I miss being underground! There's no irrational pregnant women down there!"

"That's the truth." Cyborg smirked.

"I wasn't like this, was I?"

"Of course not!" Titans West shook their heads quickly.

"Hi, Auntie Kole." Christopher looked up at the mineral generator before floating up. "Can we come in now? It's really cold."

"Aww!" Kole plucked him out of the air and hugged him hard. "It's probably really cold to you! You Californians are probably freezing your rocks off."

Bumble Bee snorted. "I'm fine. I'm a Northerner through and through. But I would like to keep my babies from freezing in this low temp."

"Of course!" Kole moved back. "Come inside! Truth be told, it's a bit nippy out there. We got early frost and it's showing no signs of slowing down. We're definitely getting a white Christmas."

"Christmas!" Calvin yelled.

"That's right, buddy!" Cyborg set his large hand on the little boy's cap covered head. "It's almost Christmas."

"It's twenty days away." Charlotte said solemnly.

"Sure is!" Changeling threw her in the air before tickling her.

Her laughing made Sebastian giggle. His powers made snow fall in a lovely arrangement.

"He can make it snow?" Kole was shocked.

Raven stared at her son. "His powers are growing at an alarming rate."

"Come in." Kole repeated and waited for them to come inside and lock the door before continuing. "Is that cause for concern?"

"It will be near impossible to teach him to control his empathy at 16 months."

Kole led them to the elevator and pressed the button for the floor with the spare bedrooms. "How are you going to manage his terrible twos? I'm dreading Junior now and he's not even a year old."

"How are his powers coming along?" Nightwing asked.

Kole's eyes widened in fear. "He's using my powers already. It's little stuff. Making crystals during bath-time, digging holes during tummy time. I'm really afraid for him to use JoJo's powers."

"Maybe Friend Jericho could use his powers to communicate and bond with his son in order to show him how to use his own powers?" Starfire suggested.

"It's a thought. I know I can't talk to him. He barely recognizes his own name. Anything I say will definitely fall on deaf ears."

"I think Star is right." Bumble Bee took the blanket off of Marco's car seat. "Sharing their power might bridge the communication gap. Like Rae teaching Cal to control his emotions."

"How's that going, by the way?" Kole led the way out of the lift and to the bedrooms.

"He's coming along but as expected, he's easily distracted." Raven reported. "But he's learning to center himself and calm more easily."

"That's good. You guys are in your regular rooms. Are you going to get situated and meet us upstairs or are you ready now?" Kole set Christopher on his feet.

"Let me just get Marco out of these layers." Bumble Bee said. "I don't want him to bake."

"He's growing already." Kole peeked into the carrier. She poked the baby and he swatted her.

"Yeah, he's 24 inches now."

"He's going to grow like a reed."

"It's "weed" and I'm just glad he wasn't that big coming out."

"Would that make a difference?" Starfire wanted to know.

Kole and Bumble Bee nodded with wide eyes.

Starfire turned to Raven. "Was it much more painful for you to give birth as Sebastian was the adorable "chub"?"

"I thought I was going to die." Raven answered.

Starfire nodded.

"I'm sorry." Cyborg and Changeling apologized to their women.

"It's over now. Let's not bring it up." Bumble Bee lifted Marco out.

"I do not want to dwell on it." Raven agreed.

"But we're gonna have more kids right?" Changeling hoped.

"Eventually…"

"Uh oh."

"I thought you wanted a huge family?" Cyborg was partly teasing, partly confused.

"You act like we can't adopt." Bumble Bee came to the door.

Kole laughed. "You're having your tubes tied?"

"I'm too young to have my tubes tied."

"You think you'll change your mind or that it's for older women?"

"No, I'm literally too young. No doctor is going to tie the tubes of a twenty year old."

"What?!" Jinx found that unfair. "How old do you have to be?!"

"Early thirties before they even consider it. Or you have to be very ill or already have a mess of kids."

"What?!"

"Why?" Terra wasn't sure how she felt about that. On one hand, she didn't want her tubes tied but on the other, everyone deserved a choice.

"I think it's because twenty year olds make snap decisions and go back on them daily." Bumble Bee shrugged. "We are rather unreliable at this age. We're not known for knowing what we want."

"That's not good enough!" Jinx spat.

"Why does this bother you so much?" Kid Flash asked not unkindly.

"I just think it's unfair that someone else gets to make a decision about your life."

He nodded.

"What kind of tubes?" Charlotte asked.

"Is it like at the park?!" Christopher grew excited.

"Can we go to the park, Mommy?!" Calvin pleaded.

"No, we're going to visit Aunt Jade before she runs everyone away." Bumble Bee said. "She already makes Uncle Roy cry."

"Why?" Christopher looked up at her, wide-eyed.

"She's pregnant."

"Being pregnant makes you make people cry?"

"It can. Or it'll make her cry. It can make you do a lot of stuff. Stuff that you don't even want to do."

"I don't ever want to get pregnant."

"He is the most precious thing in the world!" Kole cooed.

Starfire snatched him up and hugged him. "Fear not, my beautiful bumgorf! Alas, males do not carry young."

He stared at her blankly.

"Boys can't get pregnant." Nightwing monotoned.

"Oh. Why not?"

Nightwing nearly had whiplash from looking at him so quickly. "Huh?!"

"Why can't boys get pregnant?"

"Boys and girls aren't the same." Nightwing put gently.

"How are we different?"

"There's mostly physical differences and the differences between everyone but other than that, men and women are equal." Bumble Bee saved Nightwing.

"Equal." Christopher latched onto that word. Just as Bumble Bee intended.

"Equal means that one is not better than the other. There are no winners and no losers."

"Oh. Equal." He tasted the word before nodding. "Equal."

"Let's go upstairs." Kole suggested.

The others nodded and after making sure all the luggage was in the rooms and they'd shed their layers, they followed Kole to the elevator.

"How you feel?" Cyborg stayed behind with Nightwing, Changeling and Kid Flash so the girls and kids could go before them.

"Like I'm having a stroke." Nightwing knew exactly what he meant.

"He's going to ask more questions."

"Not about this. I hope not about this."

"We can teach him about boy/girl stuff!" Changeling was confident. "We know stuff! We got him!"

Kid Flash high-fived him. "We all were taught and nothing went wrong!"

Changeling grimaced. Cyborg sighed. Nightwing shook his head.

"My uncle taught me about girls. Who taught you?"

"Mento." Changeling blushed. "He kept it clinical and vague and I didn't know what I was doing until last year."

Kid Flash grimaced but the guys weren't finished.

"My dad gave me the dictionary and a medical journal." Cyborg deadpanned. "He never even said anything. Just threw the books on the bed and left."

Kid Flash's eyes widened. "What?!"

"Bruce told me that my hormones would be my greatest enemy and that I had to suppress them at all costs if I wanted to be the best I could be. My libido didn't matter and sex was a necessary evil." Nightwing massaged his temples.

"What?!" Kid Flash couldn't believe it. "That explains so much about all of you!"

The trio looked at each other before peering at him. "How so?"

"Your dad basically told you that intimacy would be your undoing and you would rather cut off body parts than allow someone in." He pointed to Nightwing.

He gestured to Cyborg. "Your dad basically told you to figure it out on your own and you never make a decision without careful endless mental research.

And you-" He waved a hand at Changeling. "Were basically told a bunch of stuff that you had no idea was real or something someone decided to invent to mess with you and you recklessly do any action hoping it's the right one.

You all have messed up ideas on intimacy and stuff. I don't know how the girls love you."

The three were totally offended and ignored the elevator coming back. "What about you?!"

"My intimacy issues have nothing to do with parental issues or the sex talk. And they're minimum at worst. You're all worse than me."

They got on the lift but kept him out. "You can ride by yourself!"

"Come on, guys! I'm not judging!"

Changeling punched the **UP** button.

Kid Flash pouted as the doors closed. He decided to use the stairs and would wait for them at the elevator to apologize. He knew their upbringings were sore spots with them and didn't mean to overstep.

("~") pagebreak

"Entertain me!" Cheshire suddenly yelled.

"Why are we here?" Raven hissed.

"I'm ready to throw a bucket of water on her and see if she melts!" Jinx snapped.

"Guys, be nice." Terra chastised. "She's really pregnant."

"I wasn't so horrid." Raven had no sympathy at the moment.

"Your powers hid how scary things were."

"I was this bad?"

"Sometimes." Terra raised a shoulder.

"Often." Jinx told the truth. "Green Stud caught most of it."

Raven almost stuck out her lip and ignored the "hurt" gems and "shame" covering (in this case, oddly enough, a poncho) appearing beside her. "I should apologize to him. And you all."

"It's okay, Rae." Terra soothed her. "You were pregnant and it was difficult for you."

"But I'm past that now."

Jinx made a face.

"I cannot still be like that!"

"You're a lot more stubborn now and it comes out in fits of mulishness. But again, Changeling catches it."

Raven started feeling guilty. A page boy cap appeared in her lap.

"Don't feel bad, Raven." Terra said. "C loves you and tries so hard to be what you need."

Raven resolved to show him exactly how much he meant to her and what he'd done for her since- well since they met. But in private. Definitely private. "I suppose I could humor her."

"Well I haven't been pregnant so why should I give her a break?" Jinx wanted to know.

"Because you might want a child from your body one day and we'll have to deal with _your_ moodswings." Terra pointed out.

Jinx grinned. "I think I'll get pregnant in five years and I'll have all of you on your toes!"

Terra made a face. "Planning our destruction already?"

Jinx made herself more comfortable in her spot. Before she could say anything, Cheshire burst into tears.

"What's the matter now?" Bumble Bee sighed heavily.

"It's bad enough you're all boring and ignoring me when you're supposed to be here hanging out with me but I've been in pain all morning and now _I've peed on myself_!" Cheshire wailed.

"It's called an accident, girl. Calm down."

"I don't have accidents!"

"Maybe you're in labor then!" Bumble Bee stuck out her tongue.

"No, I'm not! I'm not due until next week!"

"You do know babies can be born early, don't you?" Bumble Bee raised a brow.

Cheshire stared at her, for once speechless.

"Are you in labor?!" Kole stared at _her_ with wide eyes.

Cheshire's lips moved soundlessly before she spoke up. "I don't know! I don't know! How will I know?!"

"How does it hurt?" Bumble Bee asked.

"Yes, it hurts!"

"I said how!"

Cheshire blinked. "I don't know. It feels like something's tearing me apart. But it's like every ten minutes and only lasts for five seconds."

"Those are contractions and since they're so far apart, you have time to get to a hospital. Which we should do. Now!"

Everyone jumped up and began running around and yelling… with a noted exception. Cheshire watched Speedy sink to the floor and curl into a ball.

She grabbed Bumble Bee's hand. "What's wrong with him?"

"Scared and panicking. These men seem to have that in common." The chocolate wrapped Titan observed her usually brash teammate. "He's probably having a panic attack."

"He can't! I need him!"

Bumble Bee's brows lifted before she flew over to Speedy and whispered in his ear, "I know you're freaking out right now but Jade needs you. Your daughter needs you. Both need you to be brave and strong so you're going to get up and you're going to drive your pregnant- whatever weird relationship you have with her- to the hospital so you can bring your baby into the world. Okay? On the count of three, you're going to get up. One. Two. Three."

Speedy unfolded and stood. He touched Bumble Bee's elbow before going to Cheshire and helping her up. He took her to her outside gear while the other Titans acted a fool then led her out to his car. He helped her inside and calmly drove to the hospital Cheshire had wanted.

"This hurts more than I expected." Cheshire broke the silence.

"I'm sorry."

She swallowed thickly. "I'm- I'm scared."

He reached over for her hand and grasped it tightly. "I'm here for you."

Her muscles relaxed and she squeezed his hand back. "You should be. You did this to me."

He tried to take his hand back but she wouldn't let go. The corner of his mouth kicked up and he stopped struggling.

("~") pagebreak

"This is taking forever!" Cheshire yelled.

"You're only halfway dilated." Bumble Bee kissed Marco's cheek.

"We've been here for hours!"

"And we'll continue to be here until you give birth. It's not time yet. Geez, you have zero patience. However did you make it as an assassin?"

Jinx and Argent laughed and high-fived.

Cheshire growled.

"Do you want more ice chips?" Kole suggested. "I could get more from a nurse."

"I'm sick of ice chips! I hate ice chips and-!" Cheshire bit down on her lip as a contraction hit. She started sobbing when it passed.

"And I thought I was bad." Bumble Bee scoffed with an eye-roll.

"You were." Nightwing made sure he didn't make eye contact. "You scared all of us."

Changeling snickered. "And you were loud. We heard most of what you said in the waiting room."

"Yeah, Bee." Hot Spot grinned. "You were way harsh on Metal Man."

Cyborg sighed. "I remember. I remember it like it was yesterday."

"It was two months ago." Terra pointed out.

"No wonder I still have nightmares about it."

Bumble Bee turned to face him slowly.

He could feel her stare and faced her with a sheepish smile. "I can get you more ice chips, Cheshire. It's no problem."

"I don't want any ice chips!" The Asian American screamed. "I want this baby out!"

Cyborg took the near empty cup and inched out anyway.

"Useless!" Cheshire howled. "You're all useless!"

"This is not happening to me." Menos spoke seriously.

Mas shook his head with wide eyes. "I'm adopting."

Kid Flash smiled. "It's definitely the way to go!"

"How's that going, by the way?" Aqualad asked.

Kid Flash sat up, excited to gush. "They've looked over our application and just checking references but our case worker, Ms. Garland said that it looked "favorable" for us and that she was so confident in us that she wants to have a home visit. Whatever that is."

"Bee told us, genius." Jinx sighed. "It's where they visit the home to make sure the house won't kill the kid."

"Yeah, yeah, that. So we have one coming up soon."

"What do you have to do for that?" Aqualad wondered. "I can't imagine Arthur showing off his home in order to take me in."

"I called Uncle Barry about it and he said he had to do it to get custody of me. He said he didn't want to talk about it." Kid Flash was confused over that as well.

Aqualad cocked his head with a frown. "What?"

Kid Flash hunched his shoulders.

"Why didn't you guys have to do home visits?" Kole wanted to know.

"We did." Bumble Bee brushed her lips across Marco's cheek gently and smiled when his tiny mouth opened as if replicating her gesture. "We always made sure Kid, Jinx and Terra were out."

"What?!" The trio was hurt.

Cheshire smiled for the first time in over five hours and laughed. "They didn't want you around!"

"That is technically true." Starfire admitted.

"Harsh!" Terra whimpered.

"Why didn't you want us around?!" Jinx demanded.

Starfire twisted her fingers and looked to Raven and Bumble Bee, who communicated silently. Both turned to Nightwing, who looked straight at Changeling, who had no filter.

"You guys are disasters." The green one spilled.

The three gasped. "What?!"

"Disasters?" Terra was so hurt.

"I understand them but _me_?!" Jinx put a hand to her chest.

"Hey!" Kid Flash snapped.

Argent laughed. "Why'd you have home visits after you adopted? Because you got them so fast?"

"You usually have home visits before and after. Before so they know it's a good idea to let you have a living being then after so they know they made the right choice." Bumble Bee explained. "It usually only takes three after visits but because we skipped the before visits, we had six."

"Ouch!"

"What'd you do?" Kole was interested.

"We just showed off the tower and let our case worker know that all the weapons are under lock and key." Nightwing shrugged. "It was easy."

"So it only takes three visits and they leave you alone forever?" Hot Spot inquired.

"Yeah. They're scheduled ahead of time. They usually can't just pop up. After they're sure everyone's adjusting nicely to the situation, they leave you alone so you can raise the child." Bumble Bee answered.

"So this won't go badly?" Kid Flash wanted to make sure.

"We have the same safety precautions as we had then." Raven raised a brow. "What more could they want?"

"They'll probably want to check you out, too." Bumble Bee felt a bit naughty.

"Check us out?" Jinx looked doubtful.

"Oh yeah. They're judging you. Though extremely flawed, the whole purpose of child services is to protect children. They'll want to make sure you're not stark raving mad lunatics."

"But we're not." Kid Flash blinked.

"Of course you're not."

Jinx narrowed her eyes as she heard the emphasis on one word. "You're not pregnant anymore. I can hex you."

"Act like that around your case worker. She'll never let you near a kid."

Kid Flash panicked.

Jinx slapped at his back. "Calm down! She's just being funny! She's bad at it though!"

Bumble Bee heard the bite to her tone. "I'm not being funny. Social services has no sense of humor."

Kid Flash started rocking.

"I'm going to get you back for this." Jinx promised.

Bumble Bee blew her a kiss.

"Sometimes I like you more than Cyborg." Changeling wrapped an arm around Bumble Bee's neck.

"I know I do." Hot Spot declared.

Argent pinched him.

"I like her more than you, too." He frowned. "Wait, I said that wrong."

"Really?!" Argent stood up.

"No, wait!" He backpedaled.

"You like her better than me?! I've known you my whole life and now you like someone more than me?! I can't believe you, Isaiah!"

"Babe,-!" He tried.

Cyborg came back inside. "I got two cups. One has little ice chips and the other has big ones."

"Shut up!" Cheshire waved a hand. "You're interrupting my new favorite program!"

"Huh?"

Speedy pointed to the sweating Hot Spot and steaming Argent.

"What happened?" Cyborg was nosy.

"He said he liked Bee more than her."

"What?!"

Cheshire clapped happily. "Are you mad? Go chew his head off!"

Cyborg didn't hear her as he followed her orders. "What do you mean you like her better than Argent?!"

Hot Spot was torn. It was in his nature to push buttons but he didn't know if he wanted to make Cyborg madder or calm Argent down. The indecision cost him.

"Wow! Really?!" Argent jammed her hands on her waist. "You don't even deny it?!"

Hot Spot tried to talk but nothing would come out until he looked at the other guys. "Help me!"

Jericho and Aqualad shook their heads, wanting no part of it. Mas and Menos literally turned their chairs around to face a wall in order not to be involved. Speedy and Changeling were watching with rapt attention and giant grins. Only Nightwing opened his mouth.

"You want to have this fight with the kids around?"

Argent noticed the children were looking on in fear. "Fine. We'll talk about this later."

Hot Spot grimaced.

"It's on!" Cyborg jabbed a finger in the brown eyed man's direction.

"Aww!" Cheshire pouted. "Is it over?"

"You could have helped me." Hot Spot was bitter.

Bumble Bee, whom he was talking to, shrugged carelessly. "I didn't put your foot in your mouth."

"Do not talk to my girlfriend." Cyborg narrowed his eye.

"Really, dude?!" Hot Spot couldn't believe they were so mad.

"Really!" Argent spat.

He sulked by himself. "I'm going to take a walk."

"You don't want to leave." Speedy urged.

"Stay." Changeling teased. "You should be around your friends. At least the friends you have left."

Hot Spot started sparking and stomped out.

"Mommy, why is Uncle Isaiah mad?" Charlotte asked.

"Because Daddy, Uncle Roy and Aunt Karen are bad friends." Raven was amused herself and just continued putting art supplies in the diaper bag.

Charlotte's mouth fell open. "Bad friends?!"

"Very bad friends."

"No, Daddy!" Charlotte ran to him and encircled his legs. "You gotta be a good friend! Chris and Cal are my best friends! You have to have best friends!"

"Okay, sweetness." He swung her up into his arms. "I'll be a better friend."

She patted his face. "Go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Go find Uncle Isaiah and make him happy again."

"What?!"

"Go find Uncle Isaiah and make him happy again." She repeated.

"Charlie,-"

She cupped his cheeks and stared at him nose to nose.

He broke away and sighed. "I'll go find him."

She smiled. "Yay!"

He stood up and set her in his seat. "Come on, Kid. Between us, we can find him the fastest."

Kid Flash chuckled. "I want to hear how you're going to make him happy again."

"Shut up and come on." They walked out.

"This sucks. That was the only thing keeping my mind off these contractions." Cheshire sat back.

Speedy finally looked at her. "You refused the epidural thingy."

"I don't want my baby on drugs!"

"You're afraid of the needle…"

She wrapped her hands in his shirt and pulled him close.

"Drugs are dangerous for babies." He sweatdropped.

She let him go but still glared at him.

("~") pagebreak

Cheshire began scream-crying.

"I'll go find the doctor." Bumble Bee handed Marco to Cyborg.

"No!" Speedy cried out. "I'll go!"

"You should stay with her."

"No!"

"Speedy!"

He looked ready to cry himself.

She sighed. "We'll go together. Better chance of finding her anyway."

He pried himself away from the fighting Cheshire and ran to Bumble Bee for safety. They walked out.

"I think adoption is the way to go." Kid Flash was terrified of Cheshire and her intense mood-swings.

"Chicken." Jinx filed her nails.

He gulped as Cheshire kicked her legs and howled. "Yup."

Speedy and Bumble Bee returned with Cheshire's doctor, Dr. Fields. The older woman checked out the pregnant girl and declared her fully dilated.

Speedy was relieved. "That means it's go time, right?"

"Yes." Dr. Fields nodded. "Choose your support system. Everyone else has to go. My nurses and I will wash up and get ready then we'll begin, Jade. Sit tight."

Cheshire pointed to different women. "Raven, Bumble Bee, Starfire, Kole, you guys stay. Everyone else has to go."

Speedy wasn't sure if he was included in that and began inching away but she caught the back of his shirt.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"You said-"

"You did this to me and you're going to stand here and hold my hand and do whatever I want you to because you knocked me up, you savage sex hound!"

More than anything, Speedy wanted to run. He looked at the guys leaving and only Changeling, Jericho, Cyborg and an increasingly concerned Nightwing looked anything other than extremely amused.

Bumble Bee caught his eye. She couldn't see past his mask but she knew he was staring at her in terror. She sighed. She knew how freaked out he was so she went to stand by his side and took his free hand.

He squeezed her hand and took tiny breaths.

Raven, Starfire and Kole stood on Cheshire's right side and wished her luck.

Dr. Fields came back and adjusted Cheshire's body. "Are you ready?"

Cheshire tried to sit still but she literally didn't know what to do with herself. She'd never been in pain like this before and she'd been through pain. "Yes."

"Okay, your body knows what to do. Just listen to it. On the count of three, begin pushing. Dad? friends? she needs all the encouragement you can muster. Let's go. One. Two. Three. Push!"

Cheshire began pushing and it was the worst thing she'd ever experienced. It felt weird and it hurt a lot. She stopped pushing. "I don't want to do this!"

"You have to keep pushing, Jade."

"Nope. No. I don't want to."

Bumble Bee squeezed Speedy's hand and he opened his mouth. "It's okay, Ches. I got you. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Metal Head promised her the same thing and she almost died!" She pointed to Bumble Bee.

Speedy grimaced. "I will hold your hand throughout all of it. I will not let you go for any reason. You won't be alone. We're all here for you. _I'm_ here for you. Forever."

Cheshire felt something shift in her heart and although she wouldn't admit it, she started looking at him differently. She squeezed his hand. "At least promise me you'll raise her right if I die."

"I'll raise her to be as good a person as her mother."

Cheshire sniffled but couldn't respond because her body spasmed. She gritted her teeth and began pushing again. Clearly her body wanted her to.

"You can do it!" Bumble Bee, Kole, Starfire and Raven chanted.

Cheshire pushed and strained until she felt something come out. It felt really weird. "Is it over?!"

"The head is out!" Dr. Fields told her. "You can take a five second break but then you have to gear up."

Cheshire fell back and breathed in and out quickly.

Speedy squeezed her hand. "You're doing great!"

She held onto his hand and said nothing, trying to center herself.

Dr. Fields patted her foot. "Your five seconds are up. Give me a big push. A really big push."

"You can do it!" The girls chanted.

Cheshire sat up and pushed. Sweat dripped down her face and she was giving herself a headache but she was pushing.

Speedy kissed the back of her hand. "I believe in you."

Cheshire clamped down on his hand and gave a big push. One that cramped up her middle and back. But a pop was heard. "What was that?!"

"The shoulders!" Dr. Fields cheered.

The girls began cheering.

Cheshire fell back as a strange feeling overtook her. She didn't even want to think about what it meant and laid back, exhausted when it was over.

A sudden crying filled the room.

Cheshire threw an arm over her face. "Is that her?"

"Would you like to cut the cord, Dad?" Dr. Fields asked.

Speedy was shocked. "Yes!"

"Come on."

Speedy went to go down there but Bumble Bee caught his arm and whispered in his ear. He nodded and continued on his journey. He stood at the foot of the bed and took the hospital scissors from a nurse.

Dr. Fields helped him cut the umbilical cord. "There you go. You did very well."

He nodded and stood there as she handed the baby to the nurses to clean and take vitals.

Bumble Bee pulled him back and pushed him to Cheshire's head. Cheshire moved her arm as she felt someone close to her. "How's she look?"

Speedy was still in shock.

"Arrow!"

He shook himself. "What? What?"

"How does she look?"

He smiled goofily as love filled his heart. "She's perfect."

Cheshire bit her lip to contain her own smile. "But who does she look more like?"

"You." He made eye contact.

She couldn't see through the mask but certainly felt like she knew the look in his eyes. She blushed and looked down.

He took her hand and squeezed.

She really blushed as another feeling overtook her. She opened her mouth but Bumble Bee put a hand on her knee. "It's just the afterbirth. It's okay."

Cheshire was horrified.

"I understand." Raven knew that emotion well. She didn't even need her empathy to know how Cheshire was feeling.

"It looks rather unpleasant." Starfire frowned.

"Don't look!" Cheshire twitched.

"Is it not natural?"

"It's very natural, Star but it doesn't mean that it's something you want viewed." Bumble Bee explained.

Starfire nodded. "Will that happen to me?"

"More than likely."

Starfire made a face, not sure she liked that.

"I'm putting in stitches, Jade." Dr. Fields told the new mom.

"Oh great!" Cheshire couldn't wait for this to end.

Speedy wondered what afterbirth was and wanted to ask but apparently it was taboo.

"Okay, I'm all done." Dr. Fields told her. "Do you want to see your baby before we take her away for her shots?"

"Take her away?!" Cheshire sat up.

"For her shots." Dr. Fields repeated.

Cheshire frowned. "Yes."

A nurse brought the baby over. "Here's your daughter."

Cheshire took her and her breath caught. This was her baby. She was holding her child. The little girl was scowling for someone that was only five minutes old.

"Isn't she perfect?" Speedy was enthralled.

Cheshire was mesmerized. She nodded slowly. "She is."

("~") pagebreak

"Where is she?" Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) boomed.

Speedy flinched, not used to loud sounds since Cheshire stopped screaming and crying. "She's right here."

Oliver walked up to the window to the nursery and searched. "Which one?"

Speedy pointed. "That one."

Oliver squinted. "The one with the black and red hair?"

"Yup." Speedy beamed with pride.

Oliver laughed. "She's beautiful! Good job!"

Speedy nodded and didn't notice his friends slipping away. "Ches did all the work. She was amazing."

Oliver slid him a sideways glance. "Uh huh?"

"She was so powerful and beautiful. I've never seen anything like it." Speedy's eyes glazed over.

"They'll get that way. So I've heard."

Speedy leaned his head against the glass and sighed, love still very much in his heart.

"So what are you going to do now that you're a father, Speedy?"

"Well for one thing, it's Red Arrow now." Speedy- Red Arrow corrected. "And for another, I have a proposition to make."

("~") pagebreak

Cheshire watched her daughter suck at her nipple. It was the wildest thing she'd ever seen and it felt a bit strange but she'd already grown accustomed to it.

"Is Lian eating enough?" Red Arrow wanted to know.

"I thought you were asleep?" Cheshire was surprised.

He sat up in his chair. "No."

She looked down at their daughter. "I think she's eating enough. She's still going."

He stood up and leaned over the bed. "It's been two hours, right?"

Cheshire looked up and around for a clock. She founded one but it was too dark to read. "I don't know. What time is it?"

He pulled out his communicator and checked the time. "It's three in the morning."

Cheshire yawned. "I'm tired."

"I can change her after if you want to go back to sleep."

She almost said no but knew he needed to bond with their baby, too. "Okay."

He nodded even though he was looking at Lian. He switched his vision to the mother of his child. "Hey?"

She blinked before focusing on him. "Yeah?"

"I just want you to know that I thank you for what you did today. It was really awesome what you did and I know I sure couldn't do it. It was amazing to watch you. You have never looked more beautiful to me."

"Really?" Cheshire's eyes widened.

"Really. I know I play around a lot and I'm not the most sensitive but it would mean the world to me if you would be my girlfriend. We're a family anyway but I want us to be official. I want it to be the three of us."

She looked up at him, stunned.

He just let her look.

She reached up and slowly peeled his mask from his face. "Ask me again."

"Would you be my girlfriend?" He stated as he peered into her gem eyes.

Her breath caught but she nodded. "Yes. Yes, I will."

He swooped down and gave her the softest kiss she'd ever experienced. When they parted, he took the baby from her and burped her before changing her diaper. Then he sat in his chair and rocked with Lian.

Cheshire smiled and adjusted her gown before laying back and watching him. She'd never been this happy before. She finally felt like things would go well for her.

She didn't know it but Red Arrow was going to make sure they continued going well for her… forever.


End file.
